Abba is the Hebrew word for "Daddy" and is scripture's endearing term for God the Father. He is our Abba, our Daddy. Your patron is Daddy-God!

(Dec. 4)

Ada

happy

Saint Ada was the abbess of a convent in France and dedicated to keeping herself pure for Jesus. She is noted in France as patroness of religious women.

Dec. 24

AdeleAdalie, Adela, Adelaide, Adelina, Adeline, Aline, Della

noble

Saint Adeles first vocation was as a wife and mother. She served God by taking care of her family, praying, and doing works of mercy. When her husband died, she became a nun and founded a convent. As its first abbess, she ruled with great compassion and holiness.

Jan. 9

AdrienneAdria, Adriana

brave

Saint Adrian of Canterbury was a highly successful missionary in pagan England. He was also a great teacher of Bible study.

Feb. 5

AgathaAgathe, Agathy

good

While Saint Agatha was being tortured for her faith, God interrupted her agonies with an earthquake. She thanked Him for bringing an end to her pain and passed immediately into Heaven as a blessed martyr.

Jan. 21

Mar. 2

AgnesInes, Inez, Neysa, Nina, Ninete, Rachel

pure

Saint Agnes of Rome was only a teenager when she had to decide between life and dying for Jesus. She had been ordered to sacrifice her virginity to pagan gods, and she sacrificed her life instead. She is the patron saint of engaged couples.

Saint Agnes of Prague was very wealthy, and she freely used this gift to help the poor. She financed a hospital, a Franciscan friary and a Poor Clare convent. She never considered herself as above others, and even after she became abbess, she cooked for the sisters and mended the clothes of lepers.

June 20

AlbaAlbina, Bianca, Blanche

white

Saint Alban was converted by a priest whom he sheltered from persecutions and rescued by changing clothes with him. Patron saint of converts.

Nov. 15

AlbertaAlbertina

illustrious

Saint Albert the Great was a bishop who introduced Greek and Arabic science to medieval Europe, raising understanding of botany, biology, physics, and other studies of nature. A scientist himself, he wrote many books on these subjects.

Oct. 11

AlessandraAlex, Alexandra, Alexandrina, Alexis, Cassandra, Sandra

people helper

Saint Alexander Sauli became a bishop in a diocese where faith had died. Clergy and laity knew little about scripture and Church teachings. With the help of three friends, he inspired the people to new faith, corrected abuses, rebuilt broken down churches, and founded colleges and seminaries.

(June 15)

AliceAlicia, Alisa, Alison, Alix, Alyce, Elissa, Elsie, Ilsa

noble cheer

Saint Alice entered a Cistercian convent when seven years old. The community was inspired by her humility. However, she contracted leprosy and suffered greatly. Her greatest consolation
came from receiving the Holy Eucharist, and she experienced visions and ecstasies.

(June 28)

Alma

loving

Saint Almus was a Cistercian monk in England who became an abbot of a monastery in Scotland.

(Feb. 6)

Amanda

worthy of love

Saint Amand was a great missionary and a father of monasticism in ancient Belgium. Before he was ordained, he went to live in a small monastery, but his father threatened to disinherit him unless he came home. Amand cheerfully replied, "Christ is my only inheritance."

Dec. 7

Ambrosia

immortal

Saint Ambrose of Milan was called "the honey-tongued doctor" because of his gift of preaching and his reputation as an expert on Church doctrine. Words were very important to him and he said, "Let no word escape your lips in vain or be uttered without depth of meaning."

(Dec. 24)

AmeliaEmily, Emeline, Emilia, Emiliana, Emma

excelling

Saint Gregory the Great had three aunts who led prayerful religious lives in their father's house, Tarsilla, Saint Emiliana, and Gordiana. They encouraged each another to growth in holiness.

Feb. 20

AmyAmata, Aimee, Amata

loved

When she was young, Saint Amata of Assisi rejected God and rebelled against morality. Eventually her aunt, Saint Clare of Assisi, converted her and brought the girl into her religious order.

(Dec. 25)

AnastasiaStacey, Stasia

who will rise again

Saint Anastasia's father was a pagan nobleman, but her mother was Christian and secretly raised her in Christian beliefs and ways of holiness. Anastasia's husband was also pagan, and after he discovered she was a Christian, he stopped loving her and became a cruel tyrant, confining her to the house and treating her like a slave. Anastasia rejoiced that she could suffer for the love of Jesus Christ.

Nov. 30

Andrea

manly

Saint Andrew was the first Apostle. He enthusiastically led other people to God, starting with his brother, Saint Peter.

Jan. 27

AngelaAngel, Angelica, Angelina, Angelique, Angelita

angel

During a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Saint Angela Merici experienced a major devastation; she became blind. Yet she insisted on continuing the pilgrimage with devotion and enthusiasm. God eventually restored Angelas sight.

Saint Anne Line converted to Catholicism at a time when people were arrested for this. She fearlessly helped others survive the persecutions, and her home became a rallying point for Catholics. Fully aware of the possible cost to her life, she hid a priest and held Mass in her home, but was arrested and hanged for it.

June 13

Oct. 24

AntoniaAntoinette, Antonina, Tanya, Toni, Tonia

priceless

Saint Anthony of Padua was always a ready helper in time of need. Living as a hermit, he left his cave only to attend Mass and sweep the nearby monastery. When he filled in for a scheduled speaker who failed to keep his commitment, his reputation as a great preacher spread widely. Patron saint for finding lost articles.

Saint Anthony Claret was convinced that the Church should use the power of the printed word to evangelize the world.

Saint Charles Borromeo served as a bishop in a diocese that was plagued by superstitions and other faulty religious practices, but he resolved the problems by issuing wise rulings, instituting them with kindness, and setting an example through his own holy life. He learned from having a severe speech impediment that "we are all weak, but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily."

June 23

Audrey

noble maiden

Saint Audrey (also known as Etheldreda) used to enjoy showing off her wealth by wearing lavish jewelry. After her conversion, she lived an austere life, and when she developed an enormous and unsightly tumor on her neck, she gratefully accepted it as a penance for all the necklaces she had worn when she'd been so full of pride.

Barbara

stranger

Saint Barbara's abusive father kept her jealously locked up in a lonely tower which he built for her. In her solitude, she found God. She prayed a lot and studied the Christian faith, and she cleverly found a way to secretly receive instruction and baptism from a priest.

(Sept. 1)

BeatriceBeatrix, Beatriz

happiness

Saint Beatrice da Silva Meneses was the daughter of a Count and the sister of Saint Amedeus. In Portugal, Beatrice is known as Brites. She entered religious life and founded the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Feb. 18

BernadetteBernardine

bold as a bear

God sent the Blessed Mother to Saint Bernadette of Lourdes to show the world that He is real. Mary asked the girl to dig in the dry ground for a spring of healing water. Bernadette dug on faith and uncovered the spring.

July 12

BerniceVeronica, Vera

victory bringer

Saint Veronica served Jesus on His way to Calvary by wiping His beloved face with a towel on which His sacred image then appeared. She protected this treasure, and whenever people touched it, they were miraculously healed.

(May 15)

BerthaBerta, Bertilla

strong one

Saint Bertha owned extensive properties. She married a pagan, but when he was killed in battle, she devoted herself to raising her son Rupert in the Christian faith. She founded several hospices for the poor, and after a pilgrimage to Rome, they gave away their possessions and became hermits.

June 20

BiancaAlba, Blanche

white

Saint Alban was converted by a priest whom he sheltered from persecutions and rescued by changing clothes with him. Patron saint of converts.

(May 16)

Brenda

sword

Saint Brendan and a crew of other Irish monks voyaged across the Atlantic to America in a ship made of ox hides -- 400 years before the Vikings and almost 1000 years before Columbus!

July 23

Feb. 1

BridgetBrigid, Bride, Brigit, Brigitta, Brigette

strength

Saint Bridget of Sweden first served Jesus as a wife and mother, taking good care of her family, helping her Church, and getting involved in her community. After becoming a widow, she began to receive revelations about His passion and suffering.

Just before Saint Brigid of Ireland was born, her Christian mother was sold to a Druid landowner. Even though she grew up oppressed as a slave, she found great joy in loving God.

Sept. 29

BrielGabriela, Gabriella, Gabrielle

God's strength

God had given us archangels to assist us during our pilgrimage on earth. Saint Gabriel is a messenger of the Good News; he can help us hear God's voice and to teach us the truth.